Shining Light
by ErykahMiszti
Summary: Buffy, living comfortably in Italy not knowing the details of what happened in LA, gets a visitor who will change her world around.. again.


TITLE: Shining Light

AUTHOR: Erykah Miszti

EMAIL: 

WEBSITE: 

RATING: G

SUMMARY: Buffy, living comfortably in Italy, gets visitor who will change her world around… again.

TIMELINE: Post-Ats

DISCLAIMER: These characters belong to Joss Whedon and a bunch of big corporations

FEEDBACK: Yes please.

NOTES: This chapter is largely scene setting. There will be three chapters in all and the other two will contain the bulk of the actual story.

**Chapter One: The Present**

ITALY – late 2004

Buffy dumped the dirty dishes into the sink with good intentions of doing them later.

She crossed the room to the stereo and turned off the music that had been playing. She reached for a new CD out of the stack and put it on. The sound of the Ramones filled the apartment. She didn't much like it but for some reason she'd bought the damn thing shortly after arriving in Italy and she now played it every once in a while, when she was alone and she was alone often now that she'd broken it off with the Immortal.

Everyone else had raved about him and been truly shocked when she'd ended it. None of her friends could understand it. You never quite know what you've got until you've lost it forever.

The news from Giles about LA had changed everything for her. The simple thing that no one seemed to understand was that – as wonderful as the Immortal was – he was nothing compared to Spike and Angel. Everything came so easily to him. Everybody loved him. He didn't need her at all and, much as he claimed to love her, she found now that she needed to be needed. Perhaps that was the legacy from having been the Chosen One for so long. It was a bitter pill, a selfish one, and she pushed the thought away because she had resolved to not be that selfish and arrogant person anymore.

She often wondered if she should leave Italy and go to England - go and help Giles with the new Watcher's Council he had created - but she had other responsibilities that she had ignored for too long. Dawn was settled here; she had friends and a stable home. Buffy prized Dawn's stability above all things.

It wasn't like she wasn't doing her bit for the Slayers. She had trained as a youth counsellor, thanks to the Immortal's urging, and that brought her into contact with a lot of new Slayers, who tended to be very troubled teens with more strength then they knew what to do with. She trained some herself, sent some to Giles and just helped others the best she could. She was utterly amazed at how many potential Slayers there had been out there. Thousands of girls who, at the whim of fate, could have carried the burden she'd had forced on her. It was humbling. She really hadn't been anything THAT special... she was one of an army of potentials. Helping these kids had changed her life, they had changed her. She knew every one of their names and made no speeches at all.

Only one thing plagued her now in the night, when it was quiet... what had happened to Spike and Angel..?

She knew there had been a huge battle on the streets of LA, presumably resolved successfully because the world hadn't ended or anything, although the city had been a disaster zone for months afterwards. Terrorists had been blamed but never caught. All of Angel's gang were now missing. The only one accounted for was Wesley. He was dead.

Giles had taken charge on that score. He had identified the body, which had been taken to the morgue by an unknown woman shortly before the battle started. He had arranged a decent burial for him in England - on his family's land - with all the pomp and dignity that a respected Watcher deserved. Faith had kept her head bowed throughout the ceremony and it hadn't been until the end when she lifted it that Buffy saw she'd been crying. She took her aside, away from people's eyes, and held her as she let it out. Wesley had been her Watcher and the bond between them had been deeper than even Faith had realised.

That was the last time the old gang had been together. It had only been a few months since then – and little more than a year since Sunnydale – but they had all grown apart already. Of course Buffy knew where all of them were at any given time; they just didn't talk much anymore.

Faith divided her time between Cleveland and England. She had a small army guarding the Hellmouth there, so she wasn't needed full time. She seemed to have an on-off thing with Robin Wood (now a Watcher in his own right), that was often more off than on.

Willow and Kennedy roamed the world; learning, teaching magic and helping Slayers wherever they were needed. They were currently up a mountain in Tibet.

Xander lived in England where he divided his time between his own building firm – specialising in renovating old buildings – and helping Giles train the Slayers. Giles had helped him overcome the difficulties of his impaired vision and had helped him find a purpose in life. Old buildings were often the places that nasties of the night hung out… so it was all a win-win situation.

Giles, of course, ran the Watcher's Council... a council dominated by women. Buffy was really rather proud of that fact. Xander's sarcastic wit never let Giles get too pompous in his role as Head of Council.

Andrew no longer lived with Buffy and Dawn. He'd moved in with an Italian performance artist called Lucia and, heaven help the world, they were expecting their first child in a few months. He was technically Buffy's current Watcher but it was purely a ceremonial thing to shut him up.

Buffy sat down on the couch and picked up her book – something Andrew had left behind, the Hero with Many Faces – and let it fall open to the bookmarked page. She smiled when she saw the bookmark. Dawn had made it for her. It was a little cartoon Buffy – stake in hand – doing a flying kick. Dawn was turning into a fairly good artist. Italy was very good for her.

Several hours passed comfortably. Night fell outside the window. The CD ended. Buffy fell asleep.

A loud knocking on the door woke her with a start. Grumbling about Dawn forgetting her keys again, Buffy went to answer it.

"Buffy!" A tired voice breathed as his body practically feel into her arms.

Instinctively Buffy caught him. Shock shot through her. She hadn't seen him in so long that to be holding him in the flesh felt incredibly strange.

"Spike?!"

His clothes were in tatters, his face covered in scars – healing but still showing how deep they once must have been – and he smelt terrible.

"I'm sorry." He said weakly. "I didn't know where else to go."

He tried to take his weight off her but she held him firmly and helped him into the apartment,

"Let's get you horizontal, and then you can tell me what happened."

He snorted and attempted a half-hearted smirk.

"I'd love to get horizontal with you, love, but I think I'm too bloody shagged already."

Buffy smiled but said nothing. Damn, she'd missed him. Her heart ached.

She guided him to the couch and helped him lay down.

"Do you need anything?" She asked as he settled amongst the cushions.

"Don't suppose you have any blood?" He attempted another smile.

"Sorry, no." She replied wryly. "Strangely, I don't often have a need for it anymore."

She sat down next to him on the couch.

"What happened?" She asked softly.

Spike sighed, closed his eyes and then re-opened them slowly.

"It was awful, Buffy. One helluva fight. All these demons and they just kept coming at us. Gunn went down first. He was already hurt. Illyria, well, she fought hard but she wasn't a god anymore. She couldn't last forever."

He stopped and inhaled deeply. Buffy watched him intently; he always used that inflection of humanity, even though he didn't need to, when his emotions were at their height.

"Then it was just Angel and me." He stated crisply.

Buffy stiffened slightly at the name. A part of her didn't want to know.

"We re-grouped..." He snorted. "Who am I kidding? We ran, okay!" He spat it out. "Angel bloody well dragged me out of the fight. Everyone else was dead. God, the look in Angel's eyes... I think he was dead with them already."

Spike let his eyes close and his head fell back against the couch with a thud.

"Then he changed the plan. I could see it in his stance. He looked straight at me and said – betray me."

Buffy gulped at the strength of emotion in Spike's voice.

"Betray me!" He laughed hysterically, his eyes still half closed. "How many times over the years would I have willingly sold him out and now – when I finally realise what he means to me – he wants me to bloody betray him!"

Spike lifted his head and looked at Buffy.

"I loved him Buffy. He was my father, my brother, my friend... he was EVERYTHING to me..."

Buffy stared into his melting blue eyes, awash with tears. She tried to pull him into her arms.

"No!" Spike insisted, pulling back. "Don't comfort me! I killed him Buffy…" He turned away. "I KILLED him."


End file.
